Kristal Shanahan resides in Kansas with her husband of nearly 20 years and their two daughters. She has loved reading and writing since early childhood. As a tween, she read Firestarter by Stephen King, which ignited her love of the horror genre. She is a certified high school English Language Arts teacher and she is certified in Special Education. Kristal recently started a Bookstagram account on Instagram and the focus is primarily horror but she reviews multiple genres. She is a member of the Horror Writers Association and is currently writing a novella and a collection of thematic horror-inspired short stories which will hopefully be published in the next year or two. In the meantime, her first published story, "A Christmas Horror in the Woods," will be included in a KDP anthology with Raventhorne Books soon. Connect with Kristal here:
TWISTED LOVE
by
Kristal Shanahan
Lillie looked around the lobby in the trendy gothic hotel, ready to play the game. The lights were dim, candles were lit, and the champagne was flowing. Red game cards were on a glass table for those playing and anticipating love. The cards smelled divine with a hint of chocolate. Reading her card had her heart skip a beat. The matchmaking game was in full swing. This was going to be exciting, and hopefully she won’t end up alone tonight! Lillie thought.
Each card had a room key card, and a designated room number for the first stop in the Valentine’s Day game. She took the elevator with flickering lights and a slow rise to the second floor. As she stepped out of the elevator, she heard romantic instrumental music playing softly down the hall, coming from the room she was to enter. As she walked into room 214, she let out a gasp. There were candles, chocolate heart boxes, and red roses with a bottle of her favorite red wine, Juggernaut.
She immediately poured herself a glass of wine and opened a package of the delicious Christopher Elbow chocolates. She sighed in pleasure. A romantic Paris themed postcard had a clue of what the next room would hold. Room number 416’s key card was placed next to the postcard. She grabbed the wine, stuffed the chocolates in her clutch, and put a rose behind her ear as the postcard instructed. She left the room and headed back to the creepy elevator.
She thought she felt something brush against her shoulder as the elevator stopped on the fourth floor. Sometimes her hallucinations make it difficult to know what’s real or not. Lillie thought, since I occasionally see and feel things that aren’t there, I shouldn’t bring that up tonight. I just need to keep it together for a few hours. The hair raised on the back of her neck and she moved fast to the next room. She opened the door and shut it just as fast, breathing hard, feeling an anxiety attack coming on.
To calm her nerves, she polished off the bottle of wine and went into the living room, and found a gourmet meal waiting. Her stomach rumbled at its sight, and her mouth began to water. She took off the silver cloche covering her meal. It was steak, garlic mashed potatoes, and an avocado Caesar salad. Behind it at the wet bar, another bottle of wine with a glass already poured was waiting for her. She took the wine and sat at the table and began to eat. Underneath the plate she saw a note; Stay and enjoy dinner. My name is Evan, and I will join you soon. Butterflies began to dance in her stomach.
The steak tasted a bit unusual. It wasn’t rancid, but close to it. She decided to eat the potatoes and salad and leave the meat. She certainly was feeling gluttonous. She kicked off her shoes and took the wine to the couch. As Lillie was about to make herself comfortable, someone knocked at the door. She answered it, but no one was there. She wondered, was there really someone knocking?
She was starting to become annoyed and her mood was quickly fading. She turned around and on the couch was a handsome man with dark and wispy hair, a strong jawline, and eyes the color of gold.
“Hello, I’ve been waiting for you, I’m Evan.” He spoke softly.
“Hi, I’m Lillie. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Sit with me on the couch. Lillie, do you want more wine? I’m getting myself a glass.”
“Yes please, thank you Evan.”
Lillie was ecstatic, and couldn’t believe her luck. Evan was gorgeous, she thought. Evan joined her on the couch and they had a great conversation. They finished the bottle of wine and were gazing at each other. Lillie seemed a little distracted as a ghostly pale man appeared next to Evan.
“Oh, Evan, meet my friend Dante! He has joined us, isn’t that fun?”
Evan looked confused as he did not see anyone else in the room.
“Dante, make sure he is taken care of properly,” she said. “The last one tasted almost rancid and was too tough to finish. Give me the axe, please. Oh, and one more thing, the other hotel room was great, just add more wine and chocolate next time. I like things in excess, remember? You’re lucky I didn’t have you for dinner!” Lillie cackled as she grabbed the axe from him.
Dante dragged Evan to the tarp on the floor. He wasn’t as strong as he looked, so Dante didn’t struggle at all. Lillie raised the axe above her head and brought it down as the rose fell from behind her ear landing on Evan’s severed head. Lillie’s wicked grin grew as she glanced at Dante. She leaned towards Dante and they kissed deeply over Evan’s desecrated body. When Lillie opened her eyes, pulling away from Dante’s kiss, she realized she was alone.